Bending Exercises

[GarytheDino]

When I bend a nail I start underhand utilizing lat strength to pull the elbows back and out then switch to overhand to finish it off using my chest strength to pull the elbows inward.

I fight to keep my wrists locked strait and grip the nail like a vice.

So here is the question..........why not do isometric moves for the wrist with it locked in the straight position?

When you lever do you flex the wrist or hold it in the same position? Maybe I've been doing it wrong all along. Also, how do wrist curls help when the wrists move sideways while bending. Is it just for balanced strength?

[EricMilfeld]

I get a lot of isometric work from fighting particularly tough nails, and therefore don't train any leveraging. For me personally, I think it would be overkill. But holding a hammer in a static position to simulate the wrist positions in bending could work well. Wrist curls will build some stabilizing strength. I've noticed that despite not training wrist curls for many months, my strength has not dropped at all in this movement. I credit the bending and cheat curls.

[JustinH]

I plan on just doing leveraging and other wrist exercises for a couple of months. Just starting back this week doing that made my wrists feel more solid and strong. I have a feeling that after a couple of months I'm going to get a huge new PR with my bending.

[austinslater]

Justin great idea about getting a good base built up. I think alot of the guys who do so well in a short amount of time with bending have done alot of wrist stuff prior to that. Ill do the same before my next bending onslaught. Good luck!

Austin

[Jedd Johnson]

I work with hammers because I really don't bend that much. I am only bending lately these last couple of months because of GGC, and once that's over with, I'll probably quit until the next contest comes around. But when I do bend, I only do it once a week, maybe twice, depending on how I feel and what the training situation is.

When I am barely bending like this, I will use hammers to warm my wrists up and then I often just try and pick them up and hold them straight out in front of me in an isometric fashion, Gary. I feel this targets the wrist position that I am weakest at for double overhand bending, which I still struggle with, even having the master bender Eli to ask questions from.

Not even sure if it helps me, but I enjoy seeing that hammer sticking out there defying gravity.

-Jedd-

[austinslater]

Jedd I think your on to something. My partner took a month off from bending and just played with the sledge and came back to hit a huge pr. He bends underhand but the principle is the same just a different lever that mimics his bends. Other then the obvious levers that match a particular style like rear for underhand and front for overhand or reverse, I think the sledge rotations help with all styles as well. Just my thoughts.

Austin

[MeatPlow]

I wonder if that Saxon exercise of picking up the 52 or 56lbs block weight by a small string or cord could help any? Maybe if one could pick it up by and eye bolt that had simliar thickness of your goal nail this could help on really crush down on the steel? I for some reason think that the eagle loops should help somehow with tendon strengthening for the max bends but still not sure about it. I am definately going to use the Eagle Loops to help strengthen my last two digits.

[SqeezeMasterFlash]

Brookfield has recomended grasping a thin rope attached to weight to build the crushing strength necessary to hold onto a nail during a big bend. I've found this to be very useful.

Of course, nothing transfers to bigger bends like bending, but sledge levering is pretty close! The best part aboud sledges is there's no "right" way to do them. Analyze your bending technique, them perform those same movements with the sledge. For some it's isometric, for others it's not. It all depends on how you bend.